


Together At Christmas

by tabbytabbytabby



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Banter, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Pining, Snowed In
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 21:21:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17149280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tabbytabbytabby/pseuds/tabbytabbytabby
Summary: When neither Theo or Liam have anywhere else to go for Christmas, they wind up together at Derek's family cabin. There, they find a new appreciation for Christmas.





	Together At Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [never_love_a_wild_thing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/never_love_a_wild_thing/gifts).



> This is for Emma, as part of the Thiam Discord Secret Santa. I hope you like it <3
> 
> Song mentined is [All I Want For Christmas](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vu64S4xYlLQ) by Dave Melillo

Theo’s never really had much use for Christmas. As a kid, he remembers his parents putting up the tree, every year arguing about whether it was being done right. Sometimes they would enlist Tara and Theo to help them put on the ornaments, but more often than not they would do it themselves just to have it over with. He never felt the sense of hope and happiness most of his friends seemed to feel around the holiday. It was just another day. Another excuse for his parents to argue. Tara was the only one that seemed to enjoy it, so he always put on a smile just for her.

It got harder after she died. None of them really felt like celebrating Christmas much after that. It was no surprise to Theo when a year after Tara died, his parents dropped him off with his grandmother and took off, never to be heard from again. His grandmother wasn’t big on holiday’s either, but she did her best. It still never felt the same.

He’ll see the star on the tree, and remember the times Tara tried to convince him to help hoist her up so she could put it on. One year she’d almost knocked it over. This is going to be the first Christmas Theo spends on his own since going off to college. He’d planned to go back home to see his grandmother but she died shortly after Thanksgiving, leaving Theo with no one.

His roommate Liam seems to love Christmas. He’s talked for weeks about how excited he is to go back home to see his friends and family. Theo can’t help but feel a little envious when he hears Liam talk about his family traditions. He never had that close of a relationship with his family. Not enough to have family traditions or to be excited about going home to spend the holidays with them. Except for Tara, but it’s been years since she died.

Theo comes home after his last final for the semester, expecting to find the apartment empty. It’s not. Liam is there, sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. There’s a suitcase next to the door.

“What are you still doing here?” Theo asks him, taking off his coat, gloves, hat, and boots. He moves to the couch and takes a seat next to Liam. “Liam?”

“Flight got cancelled,” Liam mutters. “And then my parents told me not to worry about finding another one, and that they’d just go to Seattle to visit my grandmother since she hasn’t been doing well. I offered to come and they told me not to worry about it. That I should take advantage of the time to myself. But who would want to spend the holidays alone?”

“Some people don’t have a choice,” Theo tells him.

Liam moves his hands away from his face and looks at him with wide eyes, “Sorry. I didn’t mean…”

“I know,” Theo shrugs. “I’m sorry your plans got ruined. I know how much you were looking forward to it.”

“Yeah,” Liam sits back against the couch and looks up at the ceiling. “I’ve always spent Christmas with my mom. Always. Even back when it was just the two of us, and I know my mom didn’t feel up for it, she still made sure we had Christmas together. It’s going to be weird not having that.”

“I’m sure it’s not easy for her either.” Theo tells him.

“I know it’s not,” Liam says. “And I don’t want to seem ungrateful. I know I’ve had it better than others. I still have both of them. It just…”

“Still sucks.”

Liam sighs, “Yeah. And now I’m here ruining your holiday plans.”

“You’re not,” Theo says. “I didn’t really have any plans. Derek offered to let me use his cabin if I wanted to get away…”

“We should!” Liam says, sitting up and looking to Theo with big, hopeful eyes. “I’ve heard about Derek’s cabin. It’s supposed to be nice and close to this little village that I’m sure goes all out for Christmas. It would be better than being in this small apartment.”

Theo can’t disagree. He’d been looking forward to some time away from here, and spending time with Liam isn’t the worst thing. “Okay. We’ll go.”

“Yes!” Liam jumps to his feet and grins down at him. “Okay, you go pack. And I’ll find supplies for the road. How far of a drive is it?”

“A couple hours,” Theo says, getting to his feet at a much slower pace. “It might take longer because of the roads.”

“Your truck can handle it,” Liam tells him, already heading into the kitchen.

Theo doesn’t argue. He watches Liam for a moment, as he raids their pantry, pulling out various snack foods and throwing them in a bag. When Liam turns to him, raising a questioning eyebrow Theo quickly moves down the hall towards his room. He grabs what clothes he thinks he’ll needed and throws them in his suitcase, before running to the bathroom and grabbing what he needs from there.

By the time he has his bag packed and has returned to the living room, Liam is waiting by the door, typing on his phone. He looks up when he hears Theo and smiles, “Ready?”

Theo nods. He puts his bag down and starts working his way back into his coat and boots. His scarf, hat, and gloves come last. He looks up at the sound of a zipper and can’t suppress his grin at the sight of Liam. He has one of the fluffiest winter coats Theo has ever seen, zipped up until it’s covering his mouth and nose.

“Are you going to be able to walk in that?” Theo asks him.

Liam narrows his eyes, which just makes Theo grin wider. “I can walk fine.”

“If you say so,” Theo says, grabbing his suitcase again, and watching as Liam struggles to do the same. Theo finally takes pity on him and hands it to him, before grabbing the bag with the snacks. “You look like the wind could easily topple you over,” Theo tells him, watching as Liam moves unsteadily down the stairs.

Liam mutters a shut up, and something else that is drowned out by the howling wind as Liam opens the door leading outside. Theo puts a hand on his back when the wind hits them and Liam stumbles backwards a bit.

He leans down until his mouth his right next to Liam’s ear, “I told you.”

Liam’s body shakes, and Theo passes it off as him being cold. He keeps his hand raised behind Liam in case he stumbles again, as they make their way towards Theo’s truck. It’s a relief once they’re both inside and Theo has the truck on, turning on the heat and heated seats and wheel. They both take off their winter gear and throw it into the back.

“Snow is evil,” Liam mutters.

“I thought you liked snow?” Theo questions, remembering a conversation a few days ago where Liam said snow was his favorite part of the holidays, and he was sad he didn’t see much of it where he’s from.

“I was wrong,” Liam says, bringing his hands up to the vents and warming them. “It’s nice to look at, sure. But it’s evil. And deadly.”

“Well you better get used to it,” Theo tells him. “Because we’re going to be seeing a lot of it where we’re going.”

“I can stay inside,” Liam says. “There’s plenty of things to do indoors.”

“Now where’s your holiday spirit, Liam?” Theo asks, grinning over at him for a moment before turning his eyes back to the road. It’s not snowing that hard right now, but the roads aren’t as clear as he’d like them to be so he has to be careful.

“I left it back in the apartment,” Liam says.

“Oh pity. Do we need to go back and get it?”

“Only if you’re the one running back inside,” Liam says. “Because I’m not leaving this truck.”

“Well then I guess I’ll have that nice warm cabin all to myself,” Theo says. “I hear the beds are super comfortable. Shame you’ll miss out.”

Liam swats his arm, “Shut up. You know that’s not what I meant.”

“It’s not safe to hit your driver Liam,” Theo tells him.

“I didn’t hit him,” Liam says. “I swatted.”

“I wasn’t aware there was a difference,” Theo says.

“Of course there is,” Liam says. “One is more violent than the other. And I hardly think a swat is distracting enough to cause an accident.”

“No, but you might be.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” Theo says. “Just… put on some music or something.”

“You know the only thing on the radio is Christmas music,” Liam tells him.

“How can you be all about Christmas but hate Christmas music?”

“I’m not against Christmas music,” Liam says. “I’m just not a fan of the stuff you hear on the radio.”

“Ah of course,” Theo says, his serious tone not matching the grin on his face. “You’re a music snob.”

“Am not. I just happen to have better taste than everyone else.”

“Prove it.”

“Why? So you can mock me for my taste in music?” Liam asks him.

“Liam, if your taste in music is really as good as you say it is, you wouldn’t be worried about me mocking you,” Theo points out.

Liam scoffs, “I’m not _worried_. I know my taste in music is good. But I also know you.”

“I would never make fun of your taste in music, Liam,” Theo says, surprising himself with his ability to keep a straight face. It’s hard not to smile around Liam these days. Something he’s doing his best to ignore and not explore why that is.

“Liar,” Liam says. He shakes his head and pulls out his phone. “But I’m still going to prove to you just how great my Christmas playlist is.”

“Bring it.”

Liam’s playlist is actually pretty good, not that Theo is easily going to admit that to him. He knows Liam is watching him, gauging his reactions as each song plays. It’s hard not to react with Liam focusing on him so intently. But he’s not going to be the one to break first. If Liam wants to know what he thinks, he’s going to have to ask him.

They make it through at least 6 songs before Liam lets out a huff and turns the music down, but not off. “Okay, this is ridiculous. Just tell me whether you hate it or not.”

“I was trying to get the big picture,” Theo tells him. “You can’t do that with just hearing one song.”

“No, you were being an ass,” Liam says.

Theo grins, “Maybe I was doing both.”

“ _Theo_.”

“Fine,” Theo says, shaking his head in amusement. “Your taste isn’t horrible. Are you happy?”

“ _Isn’t horrible_ isn’t much of a compliment,” Liam tells him.

Theo just smirks and Liam groans, moving to turn up the volume as an unfamiliar version of ‘ _All I Want For Christmas'_ fills the truck. He can’t say he minds it. The man’s voice is smooth, and brings new life to the song.

“Who sings this?” Theo finds himself asking.

Liam looks far too pleased with himself as he answers, “Dave Melillo. He’s pretty awesome. He was in…”

“Cute Is What We Aim For,” Theo finishes. “I know. I saw them live once and met them. He was a cool guy. I didn’t know he did a cover of this song though.”

“Maybe _your_ taste isn’t all that horrible after all,” Liam comments. “I’m surprised you know them.”

“There are a lot of things you don’t know about me,” Theo points out.

“Well I’ll just have to keep trying then,” Liam says.

The rest of the drive passes much the same. The roads aren’t the best, but nowhere near as bad as Theo thought they would be. They make it to the cabin in under three hours, which is a relief. The sun is setting in the distance when they pull up, basking the cabin and the snow surrounding it in a glow.

“Wow,” Liam says, leaning forward in his seat to look out the window at the cabin. “This place is nice. I knew Derek had money but damn.”

“It’s his family cabin,” Theo says, parking the truck and peering out at the cabin. “They don’t get here often to use it, so when he heard I was staying on campus he offered it to me. Said it would be better than staying in the apartment.”

“He’s not wrong,” Liam says. “This place just screams Christmas.”

Theo chuckles, and unbuckles his seatbelt. “Well come on. Let’s see how Christmassy the inside looks.”

“Can we get a tree?” Liam asks him, following Theo out of the truck and then towards the front door of the cabin once they have their bags. “Not a big one,” Liam goes on, when Theo looks skeptical. “Just a small one. We can’t have Christmas without a tree, Theo.”

Theo is about to agree, but his words die in his throat when they enter the cabin and Theo looks into the living room. Standing there, is a tree that has to be at least 8 feet tall. “So much for a small tree.”

“Holy shit,” Liam breathes. He kicks off his shoes and puts his bag down, before slowly walking into the living room towards the tree.

Theo watches him as he takes off his winter gear and brushes the snow from his hair. He sees a piece of paper on the table by the door, and pick it up, noticing Derek’s familiar handwriting.

_Theo,_

_Thought you could use a tree. There are decorations in the hall closet, and the kitchen has been stocked. Enjoy. And tell Liam I said hello (;_

_Merry Christmas,_

_Derek_

Theo smiles and puts the letter down, before joining Liam by the tree. He’s not sure how exactly Derek knew Liam would be here, considering he left a few days before. Knowing Derek, he wrote 2 letters and had someone come and put the right one. Theo had texted him before leaving to let him know he was still coming, and that Liam was joining him.

“Derek says hello,” Theo says, looking from the tree to Liam.

Liam’s brow furrows in confusion, “How did Derek know I’d be here?”

Theo shrugs, “It’s Derek. He knows things.”

That seems to be enough for Liam, because he just nods and looks back towards the tree. “Are we going to decorate it?”

“Nah, I thought we’d just leave it like this.”

“What? Why?”

“I was joking,” Theo says, fondly rolling his eyes. “There are decorations in the closet. We can pull them out later. After dinner.”

“What _is_ for dinner?” Liam asks him. “I’m starving.”

“Apparently the kitchen has been fully stocked,” Theo says, turning around and heading back towards the hallway they first came into. On the other side is the kitchen. Theo doesn’t have to turn around to know Liam is following him. “I’m sure we can find something.”

Liam moves towards the fridge and opens it, letting out a noise of disbelief. “Theo, there is a _ham_ in here. A whole fucking ham.”

Theo peers over Liam’s shoulder and snorts, “How many people did he think we were feeding?”

“At least we’ll have leftovers,” Liam shrugs.

“True, but for now…” Theo looks around the fridge and smiles when he finds some lunchmeat. “Sandwiches?”

“Works for me,” Liam says. “I don’t feel like cooking anything.”

“Me either,” Theo says. “Driving in that weather has taken whatever energy I had.”

“So sandwiches it is,” Liam says. He moves across the kitchen to the panty and pulls out the bread.

Theo grabs the lunchmeat, along with the mayonnaise, lettuce, and tomato out of the fridge. Cooking together isn’t anything new for them. They’ve done it plenty of times before, having lived together for over 2 years now. This still feels different somehow. Theo doesn’t know if it’s just the overall atmosphere of the cabin, or the way they keep stealing glances at each other when their hands brush, or both. He’s not sure it matters.

Once they finish dinner, they get the lights and ornaments out of the closet and set to work decorating the tree. They work well together, even if it’s Theo putting the ornaments on while Liam hands them to him and helps direct him to where to place them. Once they’re done, they stand back and admire the tree, and for the first time in a long time Theo can really appreciate how nice it is. He hasn’t had a reason to like Christmas or even celebrate it in years, but he’s glad he has this time here with Liam.

“You know, I never really cared much for Christmas,” Theo says, his voice soft. “Until now.”

“Good.” Liam turns his head towards him and smiles, his fingers brushing against Theo’s. “I’m glad I get to be here with you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos/Comments make my day. ♥  
> Chapter 2 will be up soon.  
> [My tumblr](http://tabbytabbytabby.tumblr.com/)


End file.
